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Pickmaster Plectrum Punch
by lotbot88
I received the Plectrum Punch as a gift, and immediately set about my old store cards and pretty much anything plastic and unrequired, creating plectrums of different gauges. I normally use picks of roughly 1.5mm gauge, and this thickness can be hard to find amongst the contents of one's wallet, however the plectrums I created were ... perfectly punched out, and resembled something you might normally buy from a guitar shop. You will often find rough edges, but one pass of a piece of fine sandpaper will remove this.
I prefer to use smaller picks than a standard size, which the Plectrum Punch might struggle with creating, but after some creative use of the cutting area it is possible to make something smaller, however not up to the standard of a shop bought example.
There are two main issues with the device. Firstly, once you have spent a while creating plectrums you may have enough to last you a couple of years within the hour, potentially limiting the re-use value. Secondly, the ability to create a decent plectrum largely depends on the quality of plastic you feed into it. Just something to bear in mind.
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B.B. Blaster BB10 Amplifier
by Jenkatclaire
This was my first amp, and hence I have many good memories of this one. I bought this amp when got my first guitar, and it was very cheap (at £50). The sound quality isn't great, it can sound very rough at times and the distortion on it is especially grating. This is to be expected because of the price really, and I would not hold this ... against it much as it is probably the best quality for the price range. The harsh distortion can also make this amp great for playing more grungy songs, which was great for me when I went through my Nirvana phase!
The amp is very small, and as a 10 Watt amp, it is not very loud. This means that it is great for home use or for taking to friends' houses, but it is not great for playing live anywhere as it's not particularly loud. The amp has a few different settings which are very confusingly laid out (Beef = gain, Tweak =tone and Enjoy = volume) and as such does not have a great range of sounds available.
This is a perfect starter amp because of its price and its size, but past buying a starter amp I wouldn't recommend this for anyone really, as the sound quality isn't great and there are far better amps out there for a small increase in cost!
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Encore Play Now Guitar/Bass DVD
by NicndDan
I first picked up this Encore Play Now Guitar/Bass DVD when I first began to play the guitar some time ago. It is marketed and designed for anyone who is starting out playing either an Electric or Bass Guitar. I thought I would find learning from a DVD easier and more beneficial than learning from books and I was right. The Encore Play ... Now Guitar/Bass DVD certainly speeded up my non-taught guitar learning and it is worth a look for anyone interested in playing!
You can pick the Encore Play Now Guitar/Bass DVD up for next to nothing from a lot of online stores now so value for money is not an issue. It certainly ranks in as cheaper and more beneficial than some of the books I have bought to aid my playing!
The downside for many though will be that the Encore Play Now Guitar/Bass DVD covers the basics and not much beyond that. Indeed the reason I have scored this so highly is that I am judging it as an item to be bought with your very first guitar rather than something to help you along if you have already started and learnt chord progression etc. Encore Play Now Guitar/Bass DVD is a beginners guide.
The running time for each episode on Encore Play Now Guitar/Bass (one episode is obviously Guitar the other Bass) is only 60 minutes. Dont let that put you off as there is a lot of info packed into those 60 minutes. The disc will start you off with plugging in and setting up moving you through to playing chords and an actual song by the end of it. That seems a lot to fit in but of course the disc expects you to pause and pratice so if you were to do this in one sitting as a complete beginner the Encore Play Now Guitar/Bass DVD is going to last you days and get you started well on your way.
The on screen information is clear and precise, the tutor is good and the instruction clear. They don't rush things along, everything is at your own pace and it is nicely chaptered so that you can use the Encore Play Now Guitar/Bass DVD to suit you and your playing/learning needs.
This will definitely be of great use to beginners as it always helps "seeing" what you are supposed to be doing. It will add confidence and speed to your learning and the Encore Play Now Guitar/Bass DVD is a great place to start. Encore of course is a name you can trust and a brand you have faith in to deliver quality products and this is yet another one.
Recommended.
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